Staunton preparing for major snow storm

The City of Staunton is preparing for an impending snow storm forecasted to begin Friday and continue at least into Saturday.

Parking will be temporarily prohibited on several downtown streets from 9 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 21 until the city believes it’s appropriate to lift the parking restriction, to make way for city plows and snow removal operations.

The following streets will be under a parking restriction:

• Beverley Street from Lewis to Market
• Central Avenue from Frederick to Johnson
• New Street from Frederick to Johnson
• Market Street from Frederick to Kalorama
• Byers Street from Lewis to Johnson

The towing of vehicles on these streets will be enforced if present during the time of the temporary parking restriction. Appropriate signs will be posted along these routes to provide notice of parking restrictions.

Additionally, all residents with vehicles living in or near the downtown area are encouraged to park for free in downtown city parking facilities. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, downtown residents and patrons can park for free in the Johnson Street and New Street parking garages, the Wharf parking lot, and the Augusta, Hardy and RMA parking lots. Free parking will be in effect until the storm has ended and snow removal operations have been completed in the Downtown Central Business District.

 

Parking in other areas of the city

All City residents are advised to avoid parking on the street and to try to park in driveways or public facilities, if possible. This will allow city snow plows to clear streets more quickly and will prevent vehicles from being blocked in by snow.

 

Snow removal

The City Code requires that residents and business owners remove snow in front of their home or place of business promptly. An owner or occupier of any property that borders a sidewalk must clear that sidewalk within six hours after the ice or snow stops. If the precipitation falls at night, the owner or occupier of the property has until noon the following day to clear the public walkway.

 

Stay in the know

Residents can find local emergency preparedness tips and stay informed about conditions in the City throughout the storm via the City of Staunton’s Facebook page or Twitter page.

They may also sign up for Staunton Alert Messages at www.staunton.va.us to receive City notifications via text message, landline or email.